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Albin
Albin, the Ghost of Magdeburg, was a Caitiff who worked as a spy for Lord Jürgen von Verden in the city of Magdeburg during the Dark Ages. After failing Lord Jürgen, Albin was imprisoned by his employer. He managed to escape his captor and deliver Lord Jürgen's secrets to his sire, Hardestadt the Elder. Biography Albin was born in a small village a day's travel from Magdeburg. Sadly, he was the victim of a severe case of the mumps that left him unusually small and weak for several years. During this time, Albin bore the abuse of a father who taunted him for his shortcomings. When Albin was 13 years old, a plague ravaged through his village, taking the lives of his siblings and mother. Albin's father survived the ordeal, but it left him crippled and weak – and at Albin's mercy. The teenager revelled at this role reversal. He began torturing his father who responded with taunts. After years of abuse, Albin's final revenge came when he repeatedly plunged a dagger in his father's heart and set the family home aflame. Leaving his native village for Magdeburg, Albin traded one hell for another. The city was no kinder than his family had been. He spent months trying to find work, but he ultimately had to survive on the pity of strangers and what he could scavenge. Eventually, he turned to stealing from the city's wealthiest merchants and nobles. Albin lived in dank cellars and cesspits, but other urchins discovered his secret hideaway. Once again, Albin became the victim of abuse when stronger boys beat him and usurped his shelter. He could not stand it any longer and attacked his tormentors with a blunt knife. Albin only managed to harm one boy before the others beat him into submission. Battered and broken, Albin waited for his rivals to deliver the final blows. Instead he saw a vast shadow move over them. One by one, the boys who had taunted Albin died screaming. Albin closed his eyes and begged for a quick death. A voice he believed to be the Devil himself refused to render it, and Albin awoke a creature of the night. For years, he could not understand what he had become, not until he encountered Cainites and learned that he was not alone. Yet again, Albin became the wretch of his kind – this time of the shadowy world of vampires. Magdeburg's Cainites ridiculed Albin for fearing what he had become rather than revelling in his predatory powers. They nicknamed him "The Ghost" because he carried on more as a shade than a vampire. While they feasted on kine vitae, Albin drained rats and stray dogs. Albin came to the attention of Lord Jürgen when the Ventrue began investigating the city. The Ventrue lord's advisors recommended that he dispose of the pitiable creature. Yet rather than heed their harsh advice. Jürgen discovered that the Caitiff had an unsurpassed knowledge of the city and an uncanny ability to skulk about unseen. Jürgen approached Albin and offered him a position as his personal spy. Albin accepted the offer immediately, anticipating that he would gain respect among Magdeburg's vampires. Unfortunately, Magdeburg's other vampires still see him as a wretch who is now all the more distasteful because he reports all to the prince. Albin seethes with resentment. Jürgen treats him like a slave and never forgets to remind him that his existence depends solely on Jürgen's mercy. Albin has spent years suffering in silence, but the Tremere know very well the nature of hatred. Alexia of Nicosia approached the Caitiff with an offer: betray Jürgen in exchange for the secrets of blood magic. By the end of "Shadows of Courts" he is imprisoned at the bottom of an abandoned well, but Albin escapes around 1230. Jürgen tries to find his erstwhile spy for a few years but never does. Little does he know that Albin is bringing Jürgen's secrets to Lord Hardestadt. Roleplaying Hints They all hate you, and you hate them back. Keep quiet and watch, never letting on that you conspire against their haughty unliving selves. Strike when the time is right. Character Sheet References: * Category:Caitiff Category:Ninth Generation vampires Category:Vampire: The Dark Ages characters